Blood Orange and Thyme Cake Recipe

Healthy January’s don’t usually allow for much cake baking. The chocolate gets pushed to the back of the cupboard (only until February of course…) and all things rich and sugary sweet are quite literally, off the table.

Baking is one of my favourite things to do – all year round, so I’ve been on the hunt for a cake recipe that isn’t overly indulgent, but is pure joy to tuck into. This little search lead me to Twigs Studio’s beautiful Blood Orange and Thyme cake recipe and it ticked all the boxes!

It’s wonderfully light with subtle, refreshing flavours coming through from the zest and thyme. It owes it’s blissful flavour to Januarys most precious seasonal jewel – the blood orange. It’s available between January and February, when the weather is just right and the dubiously familiar orange skin houses a glistening ruby red flesh.

Blood oranges are a little sweeter than their better known counterparts and the raspberry edge gives them a delicate kick. Combined with the piney and lemon notes of the thyme, the two flavours make an irresistibly saccharine medley.

To make the sponge

Ingredients:

220g butter

220g caster sugar

220g self-raising flour

4 free range eggs

1 tsp of a good quality vanilla extract

Zest of two blood oranges

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 160c and line and grease four small 5inch tins

Add the butter and sugar into a mixer for about 4 minutes until pale and creamy

Gradually add the eggs, one by one making sure to mix thoroughly in-between until the mixture light and fluffy.

Sieve the flour into the mixture and mix on a slow speed

Add in the vanilla and orange zest and mix until evenly combined

Pour evenly between tins and bake in the oven for roughly 30 minutes.

To make the syrup frosting

Freshly squeezed juice of 2 blood oranges

3 sprigs of thyme

100g of sugar

Add all of the ingredients to a pan and stir continuously on a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved.

Leave it to simmer until it takes on a syrup texture and remove from the heat to cool

For the Frosting

300ml of double cream

5 tbsp. icing sugar

5 tbsp of syrup

Mix the cream and icing sugar until light and fluffy

Add the syrup and mix until it stiffens

To decorate

Assemble the cake by spreading the frosting and a drizzle of the syrup between each layer.

Spread the remaining frosting around the cake and decorate with thyme and slices of blood orange